The first works by Van Gogh and Picasso to be auctioned by an Indian gallery are on display at a luxury hotel in New Delhi, a sign that dealers in Western art are now chasing local money.

The eldest son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been hospitalised in the Ukrainian resort city of Odessa with apparent food poisoning, a security source told AFP Wednesday.

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi is once again pushing back the opening of local branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim art museums, after a fresh review of the projects, the government's tourism arm said on Wednesday.

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi has approved a raft of projects including the delayed branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums after a review of development plans, signaling the oil-exporting Gulf emirate's support to state-linked enterprises.

Ski resorts were cut off and avalanche warning levels raised in western Austria Saturday as heavy snowfall also disrupted World Cup ski races and Winter Youth Olympics competitions.

Los Angeles police have identified the victim whose severed head and other parts were found near the world-famous Hollywood sign, the LA coroner's office said on Friday.

(Reuters) - A winter storm dumping snow across the Midwest Friday is causing disruption and travel delays in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Police have identified the victim whose severed head was found near the Hollywood sign, triggering a warning to hikers on trails leading to the iconic symbol, a coroner's official said Friday.

One of India's prime tourist attractions, the princely forts and palaces of Rajasthan state, are hoping for a new lease on life -- literally.

An Australian surfer was recovering Thursday after being dragged under the water by a shark that sliced his leg open then circled him as he screamed for help in a scene witnesses said was "like Jaws".

The Maldives said Wednesday it feared that the rise of Islamic extremism could blight the idyllic Indian Ocean tourist destination.

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland is looking for an investor to turn the "Wolf's Lair" of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler into a tourist attraction.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Detectives investigating a decapitated human head found by hikers in the hills below the iconic Hollywood sign have discovered a severed hand in the same general area, Los Angeles police said on Wednesday.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A 66-year-old snowshoer missing for two nights in harsh conditions on Mount Rainier in Washington was found alive on Monday by members of a search party, a National Park Service official said.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Park rangers and volunteer mountaineers searched Mount Rainier National Park with snowshoes, skis and dogs for a second day on Sunday looking for a missing 66-year-old snowshoe hike leader.

Huan Huan and Yuan Zi spent their last day at the panda breeding centre in southwestern China ahead of a ten year trip to France, with a farewell ceremony held in their honour.

A Dutch marine rescue centre for baby seals said Friday more than 100 of the sea mammal pups had washed up along the country's northern coastline after recent storms.

The upcoming weddings of six gay and lesbian couples near the tourist destination city of Cancun, Mexico have been suspended. The upcoming weddings of six gay and lesbian couples near the tourist destination city of Cancun, Mexico have been suspended, La Reforma reported. The weddings were expected to take place later this month after two gay couples said their lawyers successfully argued in front of judges that the Civil Code of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo does not specifically bar such marriages from taking place because the state's marriage application is gender neutral. Quintana Roo Secretary of State Lois Gonzalez Flores has ordered a review of the legality of such marriages. Patricia Novelo, the spokeswoman for the gay rights group Diversity Collective, announced that she married her partner in the state in November by exploiting the loophole and that a second gay couple had as well. Novelo and gay travel groups said they were preparing to market the state as a destination

ROME (Reuters) - A courtyard column of a Roman house in Pompeii collapsed on Thursday, renewing concerns about the state of the site which was frozen in time when Mount Vesuvius erupted 2,000 years ago, burying inhabitants alive and preserving their homes.

DENVER (Reuters) - Snowfall in the Rockies and soaking rain in the South brought delays for holiday travelers on the first official day of winter, forecasters said on Thursday.